You don't think that's subtle poem, Andrew? For me (I stress) there's a
tension there, poised between regret and maybe malice?
I'll posit an obvious example, one of Les Murray's early (and well-known)
poems.
In my secret garden
I kept three starlings.
In my secret locket
Three copper farthings.
One zinc-grey evening
The birds escaped me
And a crippled man stole
My shining money.
The starlings wandered
Till three hawks took them,
And now my agents
Have caught the cripple.
There's a menace and an 'otherness' that intrigues me in works like these.
It may well be that nothing is hidden with the poem, but the suggestion is
enough. The word 'agents' is so well placed. The poem is wry, delicate and
chilling.
And now I'll stop banging on like Clive James.
Caleb
On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 11:08 AM, andrew burke <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Caleb states ' Brevity and directness' are his current interests. 'Brevity'
> is always a good thing in poetry, yes, I agree there - but directness needs
> to be for a reason, most rewardingly a subtle reason.
>
> just my thoughts ...
>
> andrew
>
> 2009/2/23 Caleb Cluff <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > And isn't that the beauty of poetry? Something that might transport me is
> > an
> > ill-sorted mess to someone else.
> >
> > I'm sticking with it. Brevity and directness are two interests of mine in
> > poetry right now.
> >
> > Caleb
> >
> > On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 10:33 AM, Martin Walker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> > > I'm sorry to say that it does almost nothing for me. I dislike that
> > fistful
> > > of consonants in "love with Sarah's", the repetition of "its" in two
> > lines.
> > > It has been shown, I believe, that chimpanzees can use their tongues
> and
> > > mouths to vocalise; they are not tongue-tied but lack certain genes and
> > see
> > > no point in learning to talk, I guess, and apes are not ugly to each
> > other.
> > > Scholars do not fall in love with the object of their attention, though
> > they
> > > may be obsessed with it. The useless repetition in this pair of
> quatrains
> > > suggests that the latter is the case rather than love here.
> > > cheers
> > > Martin
> > >
> > >
> > > Gimme eastern trimmin' where women are women
> > > In high silk hose and peekaboo clothes
> > > And French perfume that rocks the room
> > > And I'm all yours in buttons and bows.
> > > Livingston/Evans 1947
> > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "Caleb Cluff" <[log in to unmask]>
> > > To: <[log in to unmask]>
> > > Sent: Sunday, February 22, 2009 11:27 PM
> > > Subject: DM Thomas interview
> > >
> > >
> > > In Saturday's *Age
> > >> *newspaper<
> > >>
> >
> http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/books/hotel-of-broken-dreams/2009/02/20/1234633035833.html
> > >> >,
> > >> but moreso striking for this elegant piece, that does everything I
> > >> expect
> > >> and desire in a poem, in eight lines.
> > >>
> > >> I fell in love with Sarah's nape
> > >> Between her short black hair and collar
> > >> Ugly and tongue-tied as an ape
> > >> I fell in love with Sarah's nape
> > >>
> > >> Its coolness, whiteness, slender shape
> > >> She never knew I was its scholar
> > >> I fell in love with Sarah's nape
> > >> Between her short black hair and collar.
> > >>
> > >> He is online here <http://www.dmthomasonline.com/>
> > >>
> > >> Caleb
> > >>
> > >
> >
>
>
>
> --
> Andrew
> http://hispirits.blogspot.com/
>
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